7 Great Christmas Breads: Loaves of Love

Beautiful to look at and delicious in taste, this festive bread showcases the warm sweetness of maple syrup.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ring for 22

Bring this decadent bread to your office holiday party, and we guarantee you’ll be on everyone’s gift list!

Peanut Butter Breadsticks

These tasty breadsticks are a perfect snack for a cold Christmas afternoon.

Braided Cranberry Bread

Cranberries, oranges, and pecans give this bread a completely satisfying mix of tart, sweet and crunchy.

Pumpkin Spice Loaves

This recipe yields two loaves, so you’ll have enough warm and spicy bread to enjoy – and to share!

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

You can bake these luscious rolls the day before Christmas — but enjoy them on the morning you open your presents!

Christmas Stollen

This classic German fruit-studded yeast bread is distinguished by a rich sweet dough spiced with mace.

Freshly baked bread is welcome no matter what time of year it is (who can resist that aroma?), but around the holidays, bread takes on special meaning. Whether you’re hosting a casual afternoon coffee or a grand dinner, homemade Christmas bread can elevate the occasion.

Try toasting traditional Germanstollen and slathering it with sweet-cream butter and jam, or give the kids cups of steaming hot cocoa and a thick slice of two-tone banana bread after a day of sledding. Or how about a cinnamon roll on Christmas morning, still warm from the oven and packed with nuts and raisins?

Giving one of these sweet loaves as a gift, wrapped in festive paper and tied with a pretty bow, is also a sure way to share the love. It doesn’t get any more elemental than literally breaking bread with the people you care about.